Average Mental Health Therapist Salary in China for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Mental Health Therapist salary for 2024 in China and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Chinese yuan. To keep things simple, we are using the CNY currency code instead of the currency symbol ¥.

How Much Does a Mental Health Therapist Make in China?

A Mental Health Therapist working in China will typically earn around 426,700 CNY per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 209,700 CNY to the highest average salary of 669,100 CNY.

Average Annual Salary
426,700 CNY
Average Monthly Salary
35,558 CNY

Lowest Annual Salary
209,700 CNY
Lowest Monthly Salary
17,475 CNY

Highest Annual Salary
669,100 CNY
Highest Monthly Salary
55,758 CNY

These are average salaries for a Mental Health Therapist in China and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Mental Health Therapist to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Mental Health Therapist salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Mental Health Therapist Salaries in China

So we've looked at the average salaries a Mental Health Therapist will earn in China. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Mental Health Therapist can earn between 209,700 CNY and 669,100 CNY on average in China. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Mental Health Therapist in China is 437,300 CNY. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 437,300 CNY, and 50% of the population earn more than 437,300 CNY.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Mental Health Therapist salary in China, 25% of the population are earning less than 292,000 CNY while 75% of the population earn more than 292,000 CNY.

75% of the population earn less than 562,600 CNY, and 25% of the population earn more than 562,600 CNY.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Mental Health Therapist Salary by Experience Level in China

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average mental health therapist salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Mental Health Therapist in China that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 247,800 CNY.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Mental Health Therapist salary would increase to 319,600 CNY.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Mental Health Therapist, the average salary would be 440,200 CNY.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 548,800 CNY.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Mental Health Therapist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 585,900 CNY.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Mental Health Therapist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 625,000 CNY.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
247,800 CNY
2-5 Years +29%
319,600 CNY
5-10 Years +38%
440,200 CNY
10-15 Years +24%
548,800 CNY
15-20 Years +7%
585,900 CNY
20+ Years +7%
625,000 CNY

Mental Health Therapist Salary by Education Level in China

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Mental Health Therapist in China based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Mental Health Therapist in China with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 294,700 CNY.

  • Master's Degree. A Mental Health Therapist in China with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 401,300 CNY.

  • PhD. A Mental Health Therapist in China with a phd education can earn an average salary of 658,300 CNY.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
294,700 CNY
Master's Degree +38%
401,300 CNY
PhD +64%
658,300 CNY

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in China is around 146,000 to 439,000 CNY and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Mental Health Therapist Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In China, a male mental health therapist will earn an average of 442,300 CNY, while a female mental health therapist will earn around 407,300 CNY.

This means that a male mental health therapist earns approximately 9% more than a female mental health therapist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in China

Male
442,300 CNY
Female -9%
407,300 CNY

Mental Health Therapist Average Pay Raise in China

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Mental Health Therapist in China is around 13% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in China is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Mental Health Therapist in China can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in China for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in China.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
8%
Energy
7%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
5%
Travel
4%
Construction
3%
Education
2%

Mental Health Therapist Bonus and Incentive Rates in China

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Mental Health Therapist is a high bonus based job, with 83% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

17% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9%.

Received Bonus
83%
No Bonus
17%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in China earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
362,200 CNY
Private Sector -6%
341,400 CNY

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Mental Health Therapist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Mental Health Therapist in China.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 475,700 CNY
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 383,300 CNY
Assistant Instructor Counseling 175,900 CNY
Career Counselor Counseling 413,900 CNY
Consultant Counseling 397,900 CNY
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 565,100 CNY
Disability Consultant Counseling 327,800 CNY
Employment Counselor Counseling 407,300 CNY
Family Advocate Counseling 301,300 CNY
Family Services Specialist Counseling 301,300 CNY
Family Support Specialist Counseling 447,300 CNY
Family Youth Worker Counseling 148,300 CNY
Guidance Counselor Counseling 417,200 CNY
Guidance Director Counseling 504,500 CNY
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 454,300 CNY
Programs Coordinator Counseling 227,600 CNY
Psychologist Counseling 552,400 CNY
Supervising Counselor Counseling 472,000 CNY
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 425,100 CNY
Youth Advocate Counseling 245,300 CNY
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 442,300 CNY
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 258,400 CNY
Youth Development Manager Counseling 535,900 CNY

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in China, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Beijing 453,200 CNY
Changchun 396,300 CNY
Changsha 381,800 CNY
Chengdu 459,700 CNY
Chongqing 454,300 CNY
Dalian 394,500 CNY
Dongguan 396,300 CNY
Foshan 371,100 CNY
Fuzhou 394,800 CNY
Guangzhou 483,800 CNY
Hangzhou 457,300 CNY
Harbin 417,200 CNY
Jinan 433,400 CNY
Kunming 382,600 CNY
Nanjing 433,400 CNY
Qingdao 417,100 CNY
Quanzhou 378,300 CNY
Shanghai 498,500 CNY
Shantou 437,300 CNY
Shenyang 437,900 CNY
Shenzhen 436,200 CNY
Suzhou 415,900 CNY
Tianjin 462,300 CNY
Wenzhou 415,900 CNY
Wuhan 445,100 CNY
Wuxi 367,900 CNY
Xi an 436,200 CNY
Xiamen 367,900 CNY
Zhengzhou 369,900 CNY

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in China.

City Average Salary
Anhui 454,300 CNY
Beijing 390,000 CNY
Chongqing 394,500 CNY
Fujian 440,200 CNY
Gansu 384,500 CNY
Guangdong 498,000 CNY
Guangxi 431,300 CNY
Guizhou 415,900 CNY
Hainan 357,300 CNY
Hebei 472,000 CNY
Heilongjiang 398,300 CNY
Henan 483,400 CNY
Hubei 431,300 CNY
Hunan 462,300 CNY
Jiangsu 447,300 CNY
Jiangxi 433,400 CNY
Jilin 415,900 CNY
Liaoning 428,400 CNY
Nei Monggol 406,300 CNY
Ningxia 359,900 CNY
Qinghai 369,300 CNY
Shaanxi 411,400 CNY
Shandong 492,700 CNY
Shanghai 375,200 CNY
Shanxi 417,100 CNY
Sichuan 459,700 CNY
Tianjin 378,300 CNY
Xinjiang Uygur 366,200 CNY
Xizang [Tibet] 359,900 CNY
Yunnan 421,400 CNY
Zhejiang 447,700 CNY

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